This disclosure relates generally to the field of board design and the practice of surfing and other water board sports. In particular, it relates to attachments or modifications to the deck of boards that assist the user in going from a prone paddling position to a stand-up riding position while catching a wave.
Surfing is a popular surface water sport where the user (surfer) is carried across the surface of a breaking wave while standing on a board. Surfing requires the surfer to have a combination of balance, strength and dexterity, such skills thereby limiting those that are able to excel in the sport.
Surfing can be broken down into several skill sets: paddling strength, wave timing, take-off positioning, quick pop-up from the prone paddling to the standing position on the surfboard and balance to execute surfing maneuvers while riding the wave.
For many, the most challenging aspect of surfing is the successful execution of a “pop-up” maneuver. The pop-up maneuver is the motion where a surfer goes from being prone on a surfboard to a stand-up position all in one motion. In context, this is done as a surfer attempts to catch a wave. While paddling in the prone position on the surfboard to match the speed of an approaching wave, the surfer must quickly stand up the moment he/she feels the push of the wave behind him/her in order to then ride the wave.
Traditionally, the surfing pop-up maneuver is defined by executing the following steps: 1. A surfer places her hands flat on the surfboard adjacent to the bottom of her rib cage; 2. The surfer pushes her chest off the surfboard with her pelvis and upper thighs still in contact with the surfboard; 3. Without relying on her knees and while keeping her hands planted on the surfboard, the surfer brings her front foot forward swinging under her body like a pendulum to approximately where her hands are located; and, 4. The surfer allows her body to twist so that her body is sideways on the surfboard with her feet spread but centered and parallel to the longitudinal midline of the surfboard. This pop-up maneuver was developed by surfers as a way for the surfer to stand up on their board while maintaining control and balance riding down the face of a wave.
Surfing a wave can be performed on various equipment including longboards, shortboards, funboards, stand-up paddle boards, bodyboards, wave skis, skimboards, kneeboards, kayaks, inflatables and surf mats, to name a few. This discussion is limited to those surfing styles that require the surfer to execute a pop-up maneuver to ride the wave. This would include the use of longboards (surfboards greater than 9 feet long), shortboards (surfboards less than 7 feet long) and the midsize funboards (surfboards between 7 and 9 feet long), but other water sports boards may also benefit from the present disclosure.
Originally, the surfboards of the 1940s were made of solid wood. In the early 1950s, lighter balsa wood surfboards were created which dramatically increased maneuverability when riding a wave. Traditional modern surfboards are made of fiberglass foam (PU), with fiberglass cloth, and polyester resin (PE). An emerging board material is epoxy resin and expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) which is both stronger and lighter than the traditional PU/PE surfboard. Some even newer designs are using carbon fiber and variable-flex composites into the construction. Also, in recent years, there has been an increase in soft surfboards of all shapes and sizes that have a core constructed of expanded polystyrene covered by a soft foam water tight skin. The popularity of these soft surfboards is growing due to their comfort, ease of use, durability and/or lower price point.
The sport of surfing, once restricted to coastlines, is now expanding into markets far away from oceans. Wake surfing and river surfing are both relatively newer sports that now allow participants to experience the sensation of surfing far away from the coast. Furthermore, recent advancements in artificial wave technologies now allow surfers to surf ocean like waves at man-made surf parks that are beginning to dot inland locations worldwide. With more and more people living in closer proximity to surfing locations, the surfing market is currently experiencing strong growth. These new entrants into the sport of surfing often find the sport incredibly daunting and challenging for the above mentioned reasons. Beginner surfers are looking for any advantage they may gain as they look to advance their skills in the sport.